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 Posted: Tue May 17, 2022 5:20 pm
"Don't expect it'll lead anywhere, but I can't leave it be," Faustite explained with his lone, unencumbered hand. He descended the grand staircase with Alkmene beside him, with Tama in accompaniment. "Youma don't have a 'job' mindset. They go to DC to serve the Negaverse. Strange that this one thought its duties were in the Rift."
Could point to a number of outcomes, which justified a number of people on the investigation. Truly, only one of them had appropriate justification: Alkmene, whose magic finally started responding consistently. His new rank granted him terribly useful magic, and Faustite could think of no better place to test it than a limitless den of fantastical creatures. And if they ran aground of trouble that he couldn't face in a sling, trouble that overwhelmed Alkmene's abilities, they had Tama.
Solely because Tama was easily hurled into a youma swarm, and they were far easier to appease with cat starseed than with senshi or officer starseed.
"See where it takes us." Had Valjean not broken his collarbone clean in half, he would've investigated on his own. He'd since suffered a multitude of insisters that he be safer about this venture, though he was uncertain if bringing along a Super and Cat was safer, or more dangerous.
Not that he could say much for it now – they were nearing the great room with the Hall.
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2022 6:10 pm
Tama had heard the story of the strange youma. The one that lieutenant had… altered. Part of it made the cat’s stomach curl in ways it hadn’t in some time. Part of being in the Negaverse had hardened him to some less desirable things and methods, but something about the small thing in the cage brought a sense of disgust that made his whiskers twitch. Also, Faustite had mentioned that it had something it wanted in the Rift. Somehow, it seemed resistant to normal commands or, at least, normal youma jobs. Tama liked that. A certain sense of not respecting authority intrigued him, enough so that he was willing to obey Faustite on this one expedition. “I don’t get much opportunity to visit the Rift.” He purred as his little pawed feet padded the ground to keep up with the general and senshi. He kind of wished someone would pick him up. He hardly wanted to waste his time in his human form in case it was needed later. ☆
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2022 7:07 pm
It felt good, to know that for once his magic would be useful. That Alkmene could reliably go into the Rift, as backup for Faustite, and expect that the powers he was supposed to be able to command would actually show up to the party. What a refreshing feeling, to know he ought to expect usefulness. And if his magic did ******** off on him again, he had asskicking chunky boots now, so thast’d be pretty useful.
“You’d know more than I do about how unusual that is,” Alkmene said, and as they reached the bottom of the staircase, he bent, beckoning for Tama to come over—no use having the poor cat struggling to keep up, when they got further in. “But anything weird in the Rift is worth investigating, I think.”
Better to figure it out than to let it fester.
“Normally, I’d guess the poor thing was scared by what had been done to it—but what you pulled out of it makes it seem like that’s not the case.” Not that Alkmene felt like he had much data to theorize on just yet. “Could there be something magical it thinks is worth protecting, or magic it feels it needs to stay near?”
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2022 8:26 pm
The great room.
Fulgurite didn’t know what brought him there, really, other than a general sense of listless wandering; he hadn’t received his new general assignment yet and hadn’t wanted to, wondering if there was a way he could stay assigned to Sylvite despite her new existence. He supposed that did explain some of his motivations, to some degree. At the very least, this was where he had met Sylvite, and when he had become a member of her team albeit unintentionally.
But she was gone now, so he wasn’t sure that mattered.
He stared at the door, crossed his arms over his chest, and harrumphed to himself. Would have turned away at that moment, but he didn’t go without hearing the approaching voices–one of which was familiar, somehow, but not for any particularly personal reason–and he found himself staying in place with a quiet groan. Perhaps he would just…
Ignore.
Them.
Or try, anyway, as he blended a bit closer to the wall and hoped the black of his uniform would cancel out the bright blue of everything else.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2022 11:17 pm
"Won't get much more," he responded to the small puff that Alkmene invited to sit on him. Faustite remained standing as he watched the pair. Waste of time, he thought, to spoil that thing. Better that they put it to work, get it finishing off the project that Haymitch started.
That was a discussion for another day, however.
"Hard to say." Alkmene's questions were pointed and thoughtful; Faustite considered them for a few soft minutes before answering. "Expect more agitated behavior if the youma had magic to attend to; this one was… More like a zombie. Difficult to infer anything about its behavior without having known it before. Best guess is it's acting on orders from higher up, or another General's older orders." And if it was the latter, then he was even more baffled; why would a General compel this youma to stick to some part of the Rift? How was that serving the Negaverse?
As the three crossed the room, he recognized, however distantly, the blue and black form that stood near the Hall. He wondered, then, if they would have to intercede on another rash decision, but this one seemed more pensive than impulsive. He had a name, Faustite knew, but he couldn't remember it.
Where was it — right. The Scar.
"Super," he called as the trio approached. "You're coming with us to the Rift. You'll help Alkmene carry the cat." Faustite neither waited for, nor abided, any objections.
He kept pace into the Hall, which was ever a stretch. The creatures beyond the glass were stirred into a heavy turmoil upon seeing Tama. Faustite motioned for the other to stay close, and he kept his teeth grit with the aliveness of uncertainty.
After one last set of steps, they were out, and the solitary isopod youma waited for them at the double doors. It looked as maimed as it had in Rockatanskite's office.
"Our guide." He motioned with his hale hand to the pillbug. "Lead."
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 11:38 am
Tama mewed as Alkmene picked him up and practically puffed his fur up so that the new senshi that had just joined them could see him. If Faustite would allow two whole senshi to cart him around, he would oblige. Also, he knew quite well what the youma of the Rift would think of him. A senshi’s ability to dust the weaker youma would provide him with some protection. Or, at least, make one think twice about trying to make a snack of him. “Something magical.” Tama pondered as he buried into Alkmene’s chest at the sight of the youma beyond the glass. Don’t get any ideas, he thought as he gave them a wicked glance with his slitted violet eyes. “Well, if it is, I’m glad you’ve brought me along.” Tama may be useless in combat and even more so with youma, but he did know magic. He’d make himself useful in that regard. Still, he doubted Faustite’s intentions with bringing him along. Certainly, the man knew more about youma and the Rift than he or the two senshi did. There was many things he wanted to say and theories to test, but as he watched the small pillbug, he became silent again. The poor creature. Why was the cat feeling for this youma that he knew — had it been larger — would certainly not hesitate to eat him? ☆
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 11:43 am
Alkmene scooped Tama into his arms, straightening back up and frowning, briefly, at the new Super that Faustite was apparently recruiting. Hopefully he had good, useful magic—something that could help defend them. After all, they had nullification and a cat—and, well, fire. Lots of fire. Always a useful vector of attack, and Alkmene felt that it was unlikely for him to ever not feel safer in Faustite’s presence than out of it.
The Hall of Shadows made him tense, and he held Tama closer, not keen to lose their furry companion so quickly when he had plenty of uses.
He did fall back a bit, to stand next to the other Senshi.
“Alkmene,” he introduced himself, “of Envy. My magic steals others’ ability to use theirs.” He felt like he didn’t need to explain more than that—it was quite direct. “General Faustite has some interesting intel that’s leading us down here.”
Sure, Faustite didn’t seem to feel like giving an explanation, but that was Faustite—short, to the point. Alkmene could make nicer with their tag-along. Especially since he was kind of cute.
They made it to the entrance to the Rift, and he winced to see the poor little pillbug. Some youma were pretty pathetic, but this one was….especially sad-looking. He moved back up next to Faustite to get a better look.
“Poor b*****d,” Alkmene said. “Well, let’s see where this goes.”
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 1:50 pm
Super.
Aww, ********, he was seen. Fulgurite straightened his back out when addressed, and responded with a curt, “General,” only to be told that today, he was going back into the Rift. This would happen, wouldn’t it, and he felt the following sigh in his fingers and his toes. He pushed himself off the wall, acknowledged his new orders with a curt, “‘kay,” and followed the trio.
It was a time he wished he could jam his hands into his pants, but he didn’t have much of that in this form. At least he was a bit less appealing to the youma, considering they seemed to have their eyes on the puffball that the senshi–Alkmene–carried. “Fulgurite of Springs,” since Alkmene gave his, he’d give his own. Another senshi part of the ‘bright colors against the dark’ crowd, he saw– “I trap people in balls of water and make them chilly.”
Not that exciting, really, in comparison to canceling magic altogether.
What he wasn’t expecting, aside from their Rift trip, was a small pillbug of a youma to be their guide. It was cute, in a strange, crawly, tiny monstrous insect way, and he let out a, “Huh,” for it, not necessarily to compliment it, but– well, it was interesting, in any case.
At least a pillbug was a considerable improvement over an anglerfish that wanted him for breakfast, lunch, and dinner–
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 2:12 pm
"See what we'll find." Faustite thought it the tamest exchange he ever had with that cat. Would've preferred to leave their conversation where it was; better that he didn't push for any true usefulness out of the thing, else it might explode in another fit of grating sass.
He thought it kind of Alkmene to bother with informing their bait, but Faustite preferred any non-team members to be relegated to need-to-know status. This one, whose name he hadn't quite remembered until Fulgurite mentioned it, would be the sacrifice alongside Tama, should this whole venture go straight to hell. He half expected it, by now. Perhaps Fulgurite would be the next one to pull out a starseed in the middle of the Rift, summon every youma in a ten-mile radius to their position instantly.
He hadn't long to dwell on it, however; the isopod youma dutifully followed its commands, as a hundred tiny legs slowly rotated its armored body to face the Rift proper. Then it tucked and curled into itself, forming a perfectly spherical, segmented wheel, and started rolling down the many steps into the fallen city.
Which was, to Faustite's consternation, remarkably faster than anyone could reasonably descend stairs. "Keep up," he rasped to the pair as he leapt down the embankment, dodging from jutting spire to half-fallen stone as he tracked the pillbug on its journey.
The pillbug headed east as it rolled, coaxing a smoky exhalation out of the trailing General. Youma had congregated eastward since the Scar; he expected several would dot the trails on their way to… Wherever the pillbug led them. Already a group of hound-like youma roamed, close as a pack, on a hillock near their location. Their eyeless skulls turned in the direction of the two Supers and their feline burden, and their trajectory slowly changed to head off the isopod at the pass.
Faustite's attention stayed on the dog at the head of their group. "Alkmene."
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 5:14 pm
As the pillbug youma rolled away at surprising speed, the cat was extra pleased that he was being carried. Senshi and agents were much quicker than he could ever hope to be with their enhanced movements. Still, he was a bit jealous that even the youma looked like it could out run him in his cat form if it really wanted to. With the command to ‘keep up’ literally in Alkmene’s hands, Tama allowed himself time to observe. What could be happening in the Rift that this little youma was so concerned about? So far, he hadn’t spotted anything unusual — at least, by the standards of the Rift. Stone, spires, the remains of a fallen city… and youma. If there was one thing the Rift had more than its fair share of was youma. He scoffed at the eager likes of the dog youma pack as they tried to head the group off. If Tama hadn’t thought better of his companions, he would have questioned why exactly he had been brought here. Certainly, Alkmene wouldn’t stoop so low as to use him as a distraction for the baying hounds. But, as Faustite said Alkmene’s name, the cat scurried up the senshi’s chest to perch on his shoulder. Tama wouldn’t put it past Faustite to command a subordinate to drop the cat and made sure it wasn’t a possibility. He’d use his star beam if he had too, but he only had one of those. Best to wait and see before using it. He let out a small hiss as he arched his back, not taking an eye off the youma or a paw off Alkmene’s shoulder. ☆
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Thu May 19, 2022 1:43 pm
The description of Fulgurite’s magic made Alkmene nod, thoughtfully. That could definitely be useful; put a youma away and get it out of the fight for a while. Maybe even dust it instantly if they were lucky.
The steep way down made Alkmene sigh, and he was glad for his promotion and for the chunkier boots it provided. He’d have broken an ankle trying to do this in his old stilettos, and while there was a certain romance inherent in tripping down and falling into Faustite’s arms, he’d pass on the “looking like a moron” part of that. So, with care, he poked his way after their speedy pillbug guide, holding onto Tama the whole way down.
“Ugh,” he grumbled, mostly to himself; going down the stairs would have been easier, but he wasn’t getting left behind. He landed with some grace at the bottom, eyeing the pack of youma mistrustfully. Here, he was glad for his refreshed magic; he wouldn’t have to elect a single target and hope. No, the new spell—the version as it was supposed to be, he supposed—hungered, and sought as many as it could find.
“On it, General,” he said, and he groaned as Tama scrambled up his shoulder. “Relax,” he told the cat, “I need to focus. Go hang on Fulgurite if you’re scared.”
He moved forward, towards the hounds, and focused on his magic—though it came right to his hands these days, a cloud of green sparkles. “Envious Glare,” he said, and smiled. The pillbug was a friend, an ally, and so the magic would avoid it—but the hounds? There was little for it to steal from them, except their energy. And it took plenty of that. Left dust in its wake, except for their pillbug friend.
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 7:02 pm
How could a pillbug be so ******** fast?
His sandals were not exactly made for jumping, but he’d deal with it, following after the other three into the depths of the Rift. He lept and landed with a considerable amount of balance he lended to his practice in parkour. After straightening himself up and brushing himself off, he took a look at the pack of youma, raising a brow at them as if viewing something with distaste.
Being so blase about the youma they faced was a way he could bury the fear that spiked up as he remembered what happened the last time he was in this godforsaken place. Did the pendant work to disguise himself to youma? Would have been worth a try if he felt like there was a worthiness to even attempting avoiding the inevitable in this place.
As it was, Alkmene was on top of it, and also on top of scolding Tama to move if he had to, so Fulgurite reluctantly prepared himself to receive a cat on top of everything else.
And just like that, the pack was gone.
Handy.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2022 5:00 am
Faustite waited for the dust to clear. Once it had, the General hissed a rough "<********>" for how the pillbug had gotten so far ahead. "Hurry," he called to the others as he sprinted after it. It was easier, then, to chase it down as living fire – give the others something brighter, something easier to follow than his normal burn.
The transition was smooth, and gouts of fire crossed over themselves while shooting after the isopod youma. The plains were largely flat as they exited the city, and nondescript but for the crystal patches that grew over a few errant rocks. Slow, sloping terrain bore them out, and the youma was clever enough to follow a well-worn path beside the gritty, blasted terrain. Up ahead loomed what could have been a mountain, had it not been bisected by an even greater fissure. Caught between the halves, at various levels, were paths that looked thin as threads at that distance.
That, Faustite knew, was the Scar. If they were being set up by their target of old –
Flickering out of his fire form, Faustite slowed his speed enough for the others to catch up. "Keep your guard up." The Rift was a noise of one great, indomitable, limitless aura – there would be no auric sense for an ambush here. "Had a mission down here before. Fulgurite remembers. Tricky youma set us up, pushed us to our limits.
"Tama, sense anything unusual? Better we desist now if there's nothing."
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Posted: Sat May 28, 2022 5:35 am
Tama really had been worried that Alkmene would drop him, but was glad when he didn’t. Plus, he got a show of the senshi’s magic. He quite liked it. He doubted he would like Fulgurite’s as much. “I’m not scared.” He scoffed at the senshi of envy. “And don’t think about giving me to Fulgurite. Nobody wants wet fur.”Well, Tama didn’t want wet fur. He wasn’t sure the other were quite as concerned. Tama eyed Faustite in flame form as they traveled. He had seen that form before, been the target of its relentless heat. He had been burned by it once before, but the Mauvian had to admit how it was useful down here in the Rift. A light in the otherwise dark expanse, guiding them. They had fire and water and the ability to nullify magic. What did he — a Mauvian in the form of a cat —have to offer the team compared to what they could already do? Then he sensed it. Just as Faustite asked him if he could. Both an equal surprise. “Yes.” His eyes narrowed. “I sense an unusual magic about the place.”What was this feeling? “I wish I could tell you what it is, Faustite, but I do not know. Proceed with caution.”His voice was sincere for once. ☆
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Sat May 28, 2022 11:42 am
This was the most time Alkmene had spent in the Rift. He didn’t recognize where they were being led, but he didn’t expect to; he just had to follow the bright light that was Faustite, a torch to lead them deeper in. He moved quickly, butr with care; no need to trip over a crystal or startle awake some hidden youma and cause more of a problem for everyone involved. At least there was a path; that made the whole proposition easier.
“You’re very brave,” he told Tama dryly, and he even managed not to roll his eyes visibly. “Don’t claw up my shoulders too much.” But for all his snark, he did reach back to scratch behind Tama’s ear, a small show of affection that belied his outward sharpness.
And when they came to a stop, he frowned.
“Lilith told me about this place,” he acknowledged. Her first big mission—it had apparently gone well and to s**t, but it was where she’d first met Faustite, and clearly she’d been impressed with him, so he supposed in a way he was glad it had happened. Otherwise, who knew where he might have ended up.
He waited, keeping an eye out for other threats. There were plenty more shots of his magic if he needed it, after all.
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